Will we see a third and final fight between middleweight rivals Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez this year (Triple-G’s name goes first because, as we know is the tradition in boxing, the name of the winner goes first; and for many, myself included, GGG won both fights with Canelo)? It’s impossible to say what will happen later on this year – in the boxing world and otherwise – due to the unpredictable coronavirus issue.
But Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso says that if a third fight does happen between the two men who have currently boxed a draw with the return going to the Mexican star on the cards, his guy Canelo will definitely win by knockout.
“If that fight comes to fruition – Canelo with Golovkin – Canelo will undoubtedly win by knockout,” Reynoso told ESPN Deportes. “We are going to look for the fight like we did in the [second fight], from the very beginning, to try to put him on the back foot, but this time things are going to be very different. This time we are going to knock him out, we are promising that will happen to all of the people who believe in us.”
Canelo was to have fought WBO 168 pound champ Billy Joe Saunders next, and perhaps may still do so, but there is talk of a date of September 12 if Canelo and GGG go straight into their third fight, in what would be the first fight of 2020 for both men. So can Canelo score the definitive KO over Golovkin? GGG is no spring chicken, in fact, he wasn’t back in fight-one or fight-two, but maybe now, at age 38 (today; happy birthday, Gennady!), Golovkin has enough wear and tear on him for 29-year-old Canelo (30 in July) to be able to take him out.
Golovkin still has a fine chin yet he took plenty of punishment in his last fight, a tough points win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in October. How much has Golovkin got left? At 40-1-1, and with all those amateur fights, it does seem highly likely we have seen the best of Triple-G; whereas Canelo may still be getting better.
Canelo looked good in smashing light-heavyweight Sergey Kovalev in his most recent fight, picking up another world title with the November win. Canelo, 53-1-2(36) will be the betting favorite to win if the third fight with GGG does get made. But by KO? That might still take some doing, even with Golovkin being just two years shy of his 40th birthday.
